Although Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh has not officially named his starting quarterback for the Cardinal's Aug. 28 opener against Oregon State, it became nearly a foregone conclusion Tuesday that it will be Tavita Pritchard.

After Tuesday evening's scrimmage, which was closed to the media, Harbaugh said he had "pretty much" decided who will start, but said he will wait a few more days to make an announcement.

Pritchard, who has been competing with Jason Forcier and Alex Loukas, said he "assumes" he will be the starter. Pritchard got the bulk of the work in Tuesday's scrimmage, operating exclusively with the first-team offense, and he had the only two touchdown passes of the scrimmage.

Owusu injured: Chris Owusu, a freshman wide receiver who was expected to get playing time this season, sprained his knee during the scrimmage and could be out six weeks. Starting safety Austin Yancy has been bothered by a hamstring problem that could keep him sidelined six or seven weeks, according to Harbaugh.

Locker's back: Washington sophomore quarterback Jake Locker returned to practice this week after missing 11 days with a hamstring strain that had many fans concerned about his availability for the Huskies' opener on Aug. 30 at Oregon. "I don't expect to be anything less" than 100 percent, Locker said Tuesday.

The Huskies need him at full strength for their opener. They are young at the offensive skill positions and open the season with the No. 21 Ducks and home nonconference matchups against No. 16 BYU and No. 4 Oklahoma.

"The key thing is to have him as close to full speed as possible, because even if he had not had a hamstring injury, the chances of most of the guys being 100 percent for game day is remote. There is always something nagging," said Tyrone Willingham, who has gone 11-25 in three years as Washington's coach.

Bruins go with Craft: UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said redshirt junior Kevin Craft has earned the starting quarterback job with "consistent play" and "the best mastery of the offense at this point." UCLA opens Sept. 1 at home against No. 18 Tennessee.

Briefly: Fresno State will play at Rutgers, Toledo, UCLA, Utah State, Louisiana Tech, San Jose State and Boise State this season. According to the rivals.com Web site, that means the Bulldogs will travel the equivalent of 18,190 road miles, most of any major college football team except Hawaii. ... Purdue running back Jaycen Taylor, a senior from Hawthorne (Los Angeles County) who rushed for 560 yards in 2007, will miss this season because of a torn knee ligament. ... The NCAA gave tight end Brandon Warren, who caught 27 passes for 301 yards at Florida State in 2006, clearance to play for Tennessee after leaving the Seminoles in February 2007 to be near his cancer-stricken mother.